Objective
A crucial issue in fracture research today is the transferability problem, i.e. the question of how fracture toughness quantities may be transferred from one crack to another. The question is so important because it concerns the assessment of the structural integrity of vital engineering structures used, for example, in the aircraft and nuclear industries.
This project will investigate the transferability problem for fracture mechanics specimens with different simple crack configurations and different loading situations. Geometry, size and biaxiality effects on characteristic fracture toughness parameters will be studied.
The project includes both experimental and theoretical work. Crack growth resistance curves for an aluminium alloy will be recorded using specimens with different in-plane constraints which are uni- and biaxially loaded. The resistance curves will be analysed in terms of the J-integral (J), the crack tip opening displacement and the energy dissipation rate (D). Additionally, metallographic and stereophotogrammetric studies of the fracture surfaces will be made to determine the crack tip opening angle. The theoretical part of the project deals with the application of J and D for biaxial loading and the analyses of the experimental data using the finite element method.
The experimental part of the project will be performed mainly at two institutes in Kiev and the theoretical part in Kiev, London and Leoben.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
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8700 Leoben
Austria